DRE Weekly News October 5, 2026

Kindergarten 97.45%

First Grade 96.59%

Second Grade 96.53%

Third Grade 96.48%

Fourth Grade 97.48%

Fifth Grade 97.2%

Perfect Attendance: 296 Students

Overall ADA 96.99%

August 24-October 2, 2026

Wednesday, October 7 is our second annual DRE Walk, Bike & Roll to School day! We hope your family can take advantage of our beautiful fall weather and enjoy time together as you walk, bike, or roll to school.

We are growing our team of special education instructional assistants! Please contact Mrs. Stratman or Mr. Tracy to express interest and learn more about our position.

• 10-Month Position
• Starting Salary: $16.92 per hour

Includes full benefits package:
• Paid medical, dental, vision, and life insurance
• Paid personal and sick days
• Participation in the Public Education Employees Retirement System (PEERS)

Requires the ability to obtain a substitute teaching certificate through the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). If you do not currently hold a substitute teaching certificate, we will help guide you through the process. Click here for additional information on substitute teaching certificates.

The WSD's annual Homecoming Parade is rolling through town on Saturday, Oct. 10! The parade kicks off at Holt High School and makes its way down Pearce Blvd all the way to the American Legion Hall. Bring your family, your school spirit, and get ready for a fun-filled community celebration!

Bats and spiders are lurking nearby, and costume season is almost here! DRE is a spooktacular place to find a costume for your little ghoul or goblin this year!

If your child needs a costume, we would love them to come pick one out! All you need to do is email your child's classroom teacher, and we will help your child select the perfect costume! Students can wear this costume for our fall party day at school and keep it for any other trick-or-treating adventures you have planned outside of school.

All students are welcome to wear costumes on Friday, October 23, for our Fall Costume Parade and class parties. More information about this day will be coming soon.

If you have gently used costumes you would like to donate to our costume closet, you can send them to school, attention: Mrs. Browning, Mrs. Douglas, or Mrs. May.

Thank you and Happy Haunting!

Please join us for Trunk-or-Treat on October 23, 2026, from 6-8 p.m.

• Wear your costumes! (School-appropriate attire, please)
• Food Trucks: Casera, Kona Ice and one more TBD
• Live DJ, TONS of candy, LOTS of fun!

To participate, whether you plan to be a Trunk or a Treater, we ask each family to donate at least one large bag of candy or Halloween trinkets as their admission ticket. Please bring your candy/trinkets to the table when you arrive. Trinkets can be spider rings, stretchy skeletons, pencils, etc. Candy does not have to be peanut-free.

TRUNKERS: We are looking for some FUN families to host a trunk! Please decorate your trunk and bring one bag of candy or trinkets to pass out. We will replenish your candy throughout the night until we run out. 1-2 pieces of candy per child are plenty, as we expect a large turnout. Please consider having a game or a fun way to pass out candy! This makes the event more fun and helps treaters move from trunk to trunk. *Please keep trunks school-appropriate & nothing too scary for our little ones!

The back parking lot by the playground will open at 5:00 p.m. strictly for families that are hosting a trunk to help set up for the event. The parking lot will close at 5:55 p.m. to keep our students safe; no exceptions. The parking lot will reopen at 8:00 p.m. for dismissal. The front lot will be open for guests to come and go.

TREATERS: Please bring a large bag of candy or Halloween trinkets as your admission ticket. This will help replenish the candy and trinkets for the families hosting trunks.

Please park in the upper parking lot area, as the back parking lot by the playground will be closed to keep our students safe during the event. No one will be admitted before 6:00 p.m.

Wear your Costumes! (school-appropriate attire, please)

Questions? Contact Mrs. Sarah Gerson

Student-led conferences in a Leader in Me school shift the focus from a traditional teacher-to-parent meeting to an empowered conversation where your child guides you through their own academic and personal growth.

What is a Student-Led Conference?

• The Student as Leader: Your child runs the meeting, sharing their data, successes, and areas for improvement directly with you.
• The Leadership Binder: This binder or digital portfolio is the core of the conference, filled with self-evaluations, data trackers, goals, and curated work samples.
• The Teacher's Role: The teacher acts as a facilitator or guide in the room, stepping in to support or answer broader questions only after your child presents

• Let your child take the lead and explain their work without interrupting or jumping straight to critique

• Which goal are you most proud of achieving this quarter?
• If you could redo an assignment, what would you change?
• How can I best support your learning goals at home?

Celebrate Growth: Focus first on effort, self-reflection, and progress rather than fixating immediately on a single standard or grade.

Fall conferences are scheduled in consecutive 20-minute blocks. Please schedule a time with your child's classroom teacher. All faculty are available to meet with you for a scheduled conference, including special area teachers, speech-language pathologists, reading interventionists, special education teachers, counselors, and administrators.

Has your child's teacher made a positive impact on their education and life? Do you want to recognize a staff member who goes above and beyond? Say thanks before parent-teacher conferences this month with a Wentzville Wow Factor Award!

Submit your inclement weather (AMI or Snow Day) video for a chance to have it featured as this year’s official announcement! Submissions are open to students, staff, teams, clubs, classrooms, and groups across the district, so share the form with anyone in the WSD who might want to participate. Finalists will be announced on WSD social media.

Inclement Weather Announcement Video Contest Form | Submissions due Nov. 13, 2026.

i-Ready is an integral part of our curriculum for reading and mathematics. It enables your student's teacher(s) to identify their specific needs, personalize their learning, and track their progress throughout the school year. By meeting your student exactly where they are, i-Ready empowers your teacher(s) to enhance your student's learning gains. How to access my students' results.

Day 5: Monday, 10/5

Day 1: Tuesday, 10/6

Day 2: Wednesday, 10/7

Day 3: Thursday, 10/8

Day 4: Friday, 10/9

Kindergarten: 11:10 am

1st Grade: 11:25 am

2nd Grade: 10:50 am

3rd Grade: 12:30 pm

4th Grade: 12:10 pm

5th Grade: 11:50 am

Student lunch periods last 20 minutes, providing additional time for clean-up and transitioning to outdoor recess. We have designated seating for guests, and when you join us for lunch, this time is meant exclusively for you and your child. Please do not bring food or treats for other students. Your child's friends and classmates must stay seated with their assigned class.

October 6

LHS & DRE Student Lighthouse visit (at DRE)

October 7

Walk, Bike & Roll to School Day!

October 8

Second Grade Fire Prevention Visit

October 10

WSD Homecoming Parade

October 12

Fifth Grade Camp

October 13

DRE PTO Booster Fun Run Kick Off

Fifth Grade Camp

Festival of Choirs, LHS 6 pm

October 15

Great Central U.S. ShakeOut Missouri Statewide Earthquake Drill

October 16

End of First Quarter: Elementary Students, No School

October 21

Early Release, 1:35 pm

DRE PTO Booster Fun Run

October 23

Fall Costume Parade 2 pm

Fall Harvest Parties 2:20-3:20 pm

PTO Trunk or Treat, 6 pm (Lot opens at 5 pm for Trunkers, closing at 5:55 pm)

October 26

Rescheduled Kdg Field Trip

October 28

Report Cards Available in Focus

Parent Teacher Conferences, 4:30-8 pm

October 29

No school

Parent Teacher Conferences, 10 am - 8 pm

October 30-November 3

No school

November 4

School Resumes

Dear Discovery Ridge Elementary Family,

Throughout the academic year, the Wentzville School District partners with community agencies that specialize in providing students, families, and educators with preventive education. Agency presenters are credentialed, coordinated through the District, and under the supervision of building administrators. Presentation topics are targeted toward specific grade levels. All students will participate in each program unless you choose to opt your child out of the lesson(s). If you are interested in opting your student(s) out of the presentation(s), please click the appropriate link(s) below.

Kindergarten Opt-Out Form

First Grade Opt-Out Form

Second Grade Opt-Out Form

Third Grade Opt-Out Form

Fourth Grade Opt-Out Form

Fifth Grade Opt-Out Form

If you have additional questions, please reach out directly to your student’s guidance counselor.

Thank you,

Mrs. Kelly Stratman, Principal

Mr. Ben Tracy, Assistant Principal

Mrs. Stacy Browning, Guidance Counselor (Grades 2-4)

Mrs. Jane Douglas, Guidance Counselor (Grades K-1, 5)

Mrs. Sarah Holcomb, Education Support Counselor

As a Leader in Me School, one of our 5 Core Paradigms is that parents and teachers partner to support the whole child. What this means is that we value you as your student’s first teacher. You know your student best. Oftentimes it’s easy to assume that teachers are the only ones who are responsible for a student’s academic and social success in school. As a parent of a Leader in Me student, we believe that you are a valuable member of our Learning Team. You have an important role in the educational journey of your student. Research shows that when parents are engaged in their student’s education, the student’s success, academically and behaviorally, increases significantly. If we know this partnership is critical, what can we do to create a partnership?

We would love to get your insights and feedback on what we can do to nurture this partnership as well as your ideas on what you would like to do as a partner in your student’s education.

Following are a few of our insights on working together to create a partnership:

Partnering is about communication and relationships. We want to honor your family’s culture, beliefs, and circumstances. We want to communicate with you about what is happening in school, but that’s only one part of effective communication. We encourage you to share your opinions, ideas, and background. We believe all of us have unique gifts and talents. If you are doing something at home that works well for your student, that you are proud of, or simply a fun fact about your family, share it with us. Your input and voice is so important!

A partnership is not only about being physically present at the school, volunteering, or being on committees—that is only one aspect of partnership. If you’re working full time, travel for work, or simply cannot be physically present to engage that doesn’t mean you’re not our partner. There are other ways to engage such as:

• Add our school to your social media feed.

• Set up regular times to check in with your student about what they enjoy at school or what is a challenge.

• Regularly check emails or other communications from your student’s teachers and respond. Ask questions when clarification is needed.

• Model a positive attitude about school.

Let’s keep the communication lines open! We may have questions or concerns. Let’s create space to ask questions and listen to each other. We want to be there for you! Just like you, we can’t do this alone. We must come together as a Learning Team to support your student and ensure they have every opportunity for success.

We look forward to our partnership!